In Between Dreams
by shimmeryshine
Summary: To say he was a little bit terrified of what Sarah might do to him, should he wake her up while creeping into her bedroom at six o'clock in the morning, is an understatement - to say the least.


This is just a random moment in time from the lives of Chuck and Sarah. Can take place pretty much any time in season 2 I would say.

----

Chuck walks quickly and quietly down the deserted hallway, weak sunlight already starting to spill through the sparsely placed windows along the corridor. The spare key to Sarah's apartment is pressing jagged edges into his palm as he grips it tightly, making the final turn toward her bright green door. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he leans his ear lightly against the wood panel, listening for any signs of movement within. Not hearing anything, he slides the key from his palm to his fingers, running them gently over the loopy swirl of Sarah's name written in permanent marker along the top. With a shockingly small amount of noise, he manages to slide the key into the small lock, turning it to the left until he hears the door click open.

To say he was a little bit terrified of what Sarah might do to him, should he wake her up while creeping into her bedroom at six o'clock in the morning, is an understatement - to say the least, but he really couldn't think of a better alternative when he started awake in his own bed a half hour earlier. Holding his breath, he turns the knob and presses into the room as slowly and quietly as he possibly can. His eyes peek around the door frame first, scanning the bed for any signs of movement. All he can actually see from where he is awkwardly standing is a giant white fluffy blanket, some blonde hair, and a bare leg thrown atop half of the covers. Sarah rarely, if ever, sleeps with pants on (a fact he both loves and loathes about her), but this does not make the sight of her naked thigh any less of a distraction.

He feels like he's having a flash of a hundred and one things he should _not_ be thinking about Sarah Walker, so he shakes his head a little to clear the naughty thoughts creeping in, and takes three more steps so that he is completely standing inside of her room. Chuck shuts the door quietly behind him and tries his best to make sure his worn sneakers don't squeak as he walks toward Sarah's bedside table on the opposite side of the room. He can't stop his eyes from lingering on the red tank top now peeking out from under all the fluff, and inadvertently bumps his shin right into the corner of her mattress. He freezes, his eyes flying open wide, hands already coming up protectively in front of himself.

He's a dead man.

Sarah's head pops up in a nanosecond, like she has been coiling in her sleep, ready to pounce at any moment. Chuck wonders idly how she could possibly train herself to be that alert while unconscious, but is quickly distracted by the murderous gleam in her icy blue eyes. Some of her hair is sleepily stuck to her forehead, and she brushes it aside as she practically _growls_ in his direction. "Chuck, what the hell?" Taking in his pajama clad form and unruly hair, she sits up a little bit straighter, slipping into Handler Mode. "Is something wrong?"

Chuck unfreezes from his position at the end of her bed, and points at her nightstand. "I left my phone on your table last night when I was changing after the mission, and I'm supposed to be on call from six to noon for the Nerd Herd. I realized just as I was dozing off that I didn't have it with me, I swear I didn't mean to wake you up Sarah. I was _trying_ to be stealthy."

He looks so genuinely sorry to have woken her that Sarah smirks a little bit at this. Chuck stealthy? Almost impossible. "Did you get the chance to sleep at all?" she asks yawning. They hadn't returned from the extremely involved mission until after four o'clock that morning.

"Um, not really, no."

Her eyes narrow for a moment, and then she sighs as she scoots across the bed so she is only taking up the half closest to the door. Flopping back onto her pillows, she pulls back the covers from the other side. "Just get in, you'll never survive the day if you don't get some sleep."

A thrill shoots its way down his spine before he can edit his body's response to the thought of snuggling up next to Sarah for the next couple of hours. Sleeping here, where there is no sister, no surveillance, and no John Casey around the corner seems decidedly different than their fake sleepovers in his bedroom. He is _really tired_ though, so he kicks his shoes off, checks his phone to make sure there are no messages (there aren't), and climbs into Sarah's very comfortable bed. He sighs an adorable little happy sigh as he pulls the covers up to his chin and lets his head wiggle into a comfortable position. He turns to see if Sarah has already fallen back to sleep, only to be met with an amused CIA agent with one eyebrow raised in his direction.

"Comfy?" she asks chuckling throatily.

"I never want to go back to my bed ever again," he lets slip before realizing what he's just said. Her eyes go wide for a flash, and then she's shaking her head, pretending they both aren't thinking about the exact same thing.

----

The room is completely bathed in sunlight the next time Chuck opens his eyes. The skittering sound of his phone vibrating across the surface of Sarah's night stand makes him flop blindly for the annoying object, finally pressing it groggily against his ear on the fourth ring. "Nerd Herd, this is Chuck. How can I help you with your computer emergency?" he mumbles into the mouthpiece. He nods into the phone a few times, offers some affirmatives as to his ability to help the older woman on the other end of the call, and hangs up, tossing the phone back onto the table. Sarah's alarm clock reads 9:37, and he rubs his hands up and down his face to try and force himself to wake up.

Sarah had turned her body away from him the minute he answered the phone, pressing her face as deep into her pillow as it could go. She really was _not _a morning person. Trying to be quiet, Chuck swings his legs off the bed and laces his shoes back up, pockets his phone, and pulls the blankets back up over the space where he had been sleeping. It was almost as if he hadn't even been there at all.

_I can be a little stealthy_ he thinks to himself as he tip toes in the direction of the door. Sarah's muffled voice stops him in his tracks.

"Nerd Herd emergency?" she asks without opening her eyes.

He turns back toward the bed, speaking softly. "Yeah, someone's grandma can't figure out why her screen keeps going black. Probably just a screensaver, but she is convinced the "evil viruses" have contaminated her computer and wants me to come check it out."

He sees her crack a smile at this, though she doesn't open her eyes at all. "'Kay, I'll see you later Chuck," she sighs out, settling back into her pillow even more.

Chuck finds himself moving toward her before he even registers what he's doing. Leaning down, he gently skims the hair off of her forehead with his index finger and places a whisper light kiss against her warm morning skin. "Bye Sarah," he breathes, and he retreats as quickly as he came.

Sarah waits until she hears the door shut and lock before she sucks her lower lip between her teeth and fights a smile, pressing her face into her pillow. She crinkles her forehead, still feeling the lingering brush of Chuck's lips against her skin, and lets out a sigh. She thinks this feeling of easy contentment is probably _really_ dangerous, more dangerous than half of the bad guys they encounter on a daily basis, but she can't bring herself come up with a plan to stop it. Instead, she shoves it down deep, just like she does every other day of her life, and flips herself over onto the pillow Chuck has just vacated.

It still smells like him.


End file.
